April 6, 2018—Legislation introduced in the Rhode Island Senate last week would expand the time frame and extend restriction on the use of non-OEM parts to any part damaged in a collision, not just body parts, to 48 months, according to ASA's Maryland/Rhode Island group.

The bill also seeks to prohibit insurers from requiring a repairer to use a collision repair procedure not recommended by vehicle manufacturers. 

Rhode Island Senate Bill 2679 (SB 2679), introduced March 20 by State Senators Maryellen Goodwin, Dominick Ruggerio and Michael McCaffrey, seeks to expand restriction currently in place on non-OEM collision repair body parts in first-party claims to any collision damaged parts.